Tours & Education

We welcome you to join our docent-led tours of the Abbey of New Clairvaux! Where you’ll learn many fascinating facts about the properties history, the monks of New Clairvaux, and so much more. Guided tours, accompanied by a docent, are available upon availability of a docent.  Please use the tour request form below to connect with the Development Department.

Docent-led tours are only available for groups of 10 or more individuals. Please see the “Day Visits” tab for groups of 9 or less.

Standard Tour Itinerary
Offered Monday-Saturday

9:30 AM: The Abbey of New Clairvaux Book & Gift Shop opens (located next to the Welcome Center) if there’s an interest prior to your tour

10:30 AM: Meet your Docent in the Ovila Room
Located between 3 (Development Office) & 4 (Wine Tasting Room) on your map

10:30 – 11:50 AM: Tour

Post Tour – Optional & On Your Own:

12:00 PM – 12:20 PM: Prayer with the Monks in the Church

Explore History Panels, Koi Pond & St. Cecilia’s Chapel

Wine Tasting at the New Clairvaux Vineyard Tasting Room

Alternative arrangements can be made

Request A Tour

“Our group ‘The Artists of the Oaks’ from Lake Wildwood, CA, toured the Abbey and enjoyed wonderful wine tasting. The tour with Judith was fabulous. She covered so much of the history and interesting details about the Abbey. The time in the church with the monks was enlightening. Wine tasting was wonderful. Lots of treats, clothing and wine left with us. It was an absolutely delightful day. Thank you so much.”
-Shirley B.

Resources to Prepare for your Visit

Whether you visit us on a docent-led tour, or visit on your own, we encourage you to review the following resources prior to your visit to the Abbey:

Property Map
Tour Guidelines

Digital Display Board
Please visit our Ovila Room Digital Display Board (not viewable on mobile devices) to learn more about the history of the property, the history of the monastery, the monks, the Journey of the Sacred Stones from Spain, and our current way of life today.

The History of the Abbey of New Clairvaux
by Father John E. Boll and Abbot Emeritus Thomas X. Davis

Rule of St. Benedict

“The Monks of Vina” documentary
With the wine harvest of 2012 as the backdrop, director John Beck explores the quirks of monastic life at the Abbey of New Clairvaux, north of Chico, California. The faith of the trappist monks is tested as they attempt to make wine in the same scorching climate where Gov. Leland Stanford once planted the largest vineyard in the world in the 1880s. Lifting a veil on the spiritual side of winemaking, “The Monks of Vina” reveals the extreme sacrifice and devotion required in a quest to become closer to God.

Building the Great Cathedrals (NOVA)
The Gothic cathedrals are marvelous human achievements in architecture and artistry. Building the Great Cathedrals investigates how medieval architects could conceive and construct grand religious buildings such as the Beauvais Cathedral of France. It explores the logistics of acquiring the stone and other materials used in the construction of a cathedral, discusses how such an endeavour could require the manpower of entire towns and how the construction of some sites transitioned from one living architect to the next.

Golden Gate Park’s Medieval Monastery Stones
and where to find them